


Five Feet Apart

by orchidbreezefc



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Pocket spa, more friendshippy than not really, please do actually read before deciding to kill me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 17:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9559514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orchidbreezefc/pseuds/orchidbreezefc
Summary: The thing is--the thing is--listen. Taako's the best friend a ruff boi could ask for. You would never do anything to jeopardize that, and you are deeply uninterested in datinganyway, and the sex thing wasn't even really your style in the first place. So you desperately want to not do anything stupid because this is the last thing Magnus should rush into. But also--there he is.--Taako's so pretty Magnus has a moment of crisis. Taako is understanding, but then, he probably gets that a lot.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've been waffling since I came up with this idea (inspired by a tweet) about whether to put this up here or hide it on Google Docs where strangers wouldn't see it and hate me for writing any sort of thing that could be construed as Magnus shipping. It must be said that this fandom is _merciless_.
> 
> That said, there's really no reason I wouldn't post it here except that I'm terrified I'll be eaten alive and namedropped and blocked by half the fandom. So I'm taking the leap of faith and hoping that you guys will give me a chance and read it to see if you think I handled it well enough rather than kill me for doing this idea in the first place. I appreciate it.
> 
> Takes place in the lunar interlude after Crystal Kingdom. Contains foreshadowing for episodes 54 and 55 of The Suffering Game (I started writing this before 55 if you can believe it). Warnings for suicide comments and sex talk--no genital mentions of any sort, though.

Taako has never been as certain of the worthiness of any purchase he's ever made as much as he is of the pocket spa. With your track record for actually using items, you and Merle might have expected more use from the immovable rod, the no-sodium salt shaker, hell, even the unlimited pasta pass. Still, you must admit the pocket spa has paid healing dividends, and even though you could never match Taako's enthusiasm for the thing, everybody likes to relax and take a load off sometimes.

Taako takes any excuse to use it and today was no exception: for a couple days Merle's on his own spa retreat, and you'd been training all day with Carey. Taako brushed it off when you asked what he had been doing, but he looked you up and down and quickly diagnosed you as 'wildebeest fucking levels--' (or was that 'wildebeest-fucking levels'?) '--of sweaty, my man'. He suggested the two of you get a long rest too.

You had no reason to say no, and even if you did, what the fuck? It's not like you would have wanted to get out of it. Hell, a spa evening sounded fucking great, let alone a magic one specifically for rest and healing. You grabbed some pajamas to change into once you're done and a copy of Johann's mix tape, hoping you could coax out of it an effect more 'soothing' than 'depressing as hell', and then it was you and Taako and Steven, ready to peace out of this dimension until you are so relaxed you'll have a hard time reaching your bed in time to pass out.

Which brings you to now: you arrive in the spa, set Steven afloat on the surface of the hot spring water, and put the music box down by where you plan to soak as you consider the various amenities. A pocket spa is mostly self-applicable stuff like aromatherapy and baths, but there's equipment for more--massage tables, manicure equipment, even waxes. You might try a mud bath this time, or maybe you and Taako can paint each other's nails.

"You sure you're not cooking that fish, homie?" Taako calls.

"He's magic. Steven is a magic fish. I've taken him through worse than the _spa_. This'll be great for him, he'll be fine. You can cast fucking Detect Magic to make sure."

"Maybe I will," he says contrarily as you take a towel.

You turn to face Taako with a comeback ready to go, only to find him beginning to undress, and the words just dry up forgotten. It's less the act of him taking off his hat and cloak--obviously that's no big deal--and more the realization that everything else is coming off in short order that gives you a sudden edge of anxiety.

And you have no idea why. You've been sharing quarters forever, after all. Roommates at the Bureau of Balance, a shared cabin at Camp Goodfriend, rests short and long on adventures aplenty even before that. Taako's not really shy about his body or anything--it's nothing you haven't seen before, really, in here or otherwise.

But this is _different_ , like a whole other ball game. You can't put your finger on it--something about the lack of life-or-death situation pressuring you as you try to relax until it's less resting and more physically healing. Something about the ability to slow down and be calm paradoxically has you frozen in place.

Taako discards his cloak and nice shawl in a heap on a bench; it's an incredibly characteristic blend of his interest in appearances and his complete laziness. The fact that it's so _him_ and you know that, are familiar with his Taakoness like the back of your hand, makes your sudden distress that much weirder. He sits beside the pile and pulls off a few bracelets, long fingers skimming over the bracer with no thought to it, then his earrings--stars today, you've noticed it was a more magic-themed ensemble than usual.

He takes a couple necklaces off over his head and sets them down, but makes a frustrated grunt after a bit of fiddling with one done with a clasp. "Magnus, be a dear and get this for me, would you?" Taako makes a quick gesture for you to come over, then pulls his braid aside to show the back of his neck and a lobster claw his nails couldn't quite get the hang of.

He could probably just turn the necklace around and do it from the front, but he seems not to have thought of that, and you can't find the words to say it even if you wanted to be rude and tell him to do it himself. You set down the towel you've been clutching for dear life and approach on stiff legs.

Taako hums either thoughtfully or absentmindedly as you crouch behind him. While you are busy he takes the braid now coming down his front, pulls out the ribbon holding it in place, and works his fingers into it to tease it out of the shape. His hair comes out shiny and wavy from still half retaining the twists. You notice Taako smells a little like flowers, oh gods, those novels were true, elves DO smell like--wait, no, it's just shampoo or something.

You remember your mission, and your blunt nails scrabble with the clasp a few times, your hands a bit shaky to begin with. You feel like that's going to give you away because your carpenter's hands should be rock steady, and Taako's going to notice and interrogate you until you spill every confusing uncomfortable feeling in your body and he'll laugh at you so much there will be no recourse but to drown yourself in a mud bath.

But he doesn't. You get the clasp and he says, "Thanks, my dude," and you straighten up and breathe.

You realize you ought to take off your own clothes, and for a second you consider turning around like a self-conscious child to change instead of dawdling conspicuously. But then Taako's top is coming off, rising above his waist and then his back and shoulders, and there goes that plan because you're fucking transfixed.

It's not like you can see the vertebrae or anything, he's not nearly thin enough for that, but you can see clear as day how his spine curves, just _curves _, a__ ll the way down--and then, down. Oh boy. But you shouldn't get ahead of yourself, because Taako's got dimples on his back. Dimples on his fucking back, right below the spread of his waist outward and down toward the line of his skirt.

There, settled just on top of his hipbones, is a pair of love handles, symmetrical rolls whose namesake you know very little about. Like, would you hold them up-to-down, or on the sides, or overhand even, and that gets into a very different kind of sex than you've ever had any sort of experience with, and oh _shit_.

The thing is--the thing is--listen. Taako's the best friend a ruff boi could ask for. You would never do anything to jeopardize that, and you are deeply uninterested in dating _anyway_ , and the sex thing wasn't even really your style in the first place. So you desperately want to not do anything stupid because this is the last thing Magnus should rush into. But also--there he is.

Taako flicks his hair back over his shoulder, obscuring your view, but that doesn't snap you out of it because it falls like running water down his back. You don't know if you've ever seen it down, let alone when it's clean and cared for by the access to products and frequent showers that prolonged downtime at the Bureau affords him. It's really beautiful, shining and colorful, carefully blended tones fading up into roots kept dark. It's called hombre, or something. Maybe he would let you run your hands through it.

Taako leans down to unlace his boots but glances back at you, apparently picking up on your hesitation. "You okay, big guy?"

You are not even close. "Your hair's nice," you find yourself stammering.

Taako smiles and tucks a stray lock behind his long ear. "You flattering bitch. I do try." He turns back to his boots, and calls back toward you, "So, you gonna come in the spring or what?"

"Yeah--if you are, yeah." Spa activities are best done together, meant to be enjoyed with your friends--except a part of you has splintered off and started screaming at you to flee, as far away from Taako as possible.

"You planning to take a soak in those?" Taako asks a little derisively, and you glance down to see yourself still in all your clothes. You're a fucking dunce.

"I wanted to wait for you," you struggle to say. "I knew you were going to take a long time with your outfit, so I didn't want to get stuck waiting naked or something."

Taako begins to tie his hair back up in a high bun to keep it out of the way of the water. "Well, now I'm gonna be waiting for your ass, so get going."

You nearly get caught in your shirt in your haste to take it off. Then you move to sit to take off your boots and pants, but you think about sitting on the bench thigh to thigh with Taako doing the same and hmmnope. Magnus is good out here.

You do end up turning your back. Taako's turned away from you so it's only fair. You get out of your own boots and socks, still standing, and hesitate just a bit before you get your pants off. It's just the pocket spa, you tell yourself. Nothing Taako hasn't seen before. Nothing you haven't done before.

You did wear underwear today, because with Carey who knows, a pantsing may have been in the cards. Should you keep it or not? You glance over your shoulder, and Taako has removed his socks and stood up to shimmy down his skirt, and his underwear comes with it and yep that is definitely Taako's ass. And what an ass it is. Like, _damn_.

This can't be happening.

Well, you've got to do this now, but you can deal with it. You snatch your discarded towel and do your best to preserve your modesty as you get your underwear off. You're going to have to drop it anyway after the fifteen feet to the spring, but every little bit counts.

Taako's already headed into the water, which is well enough because if he turned around this would be a whole other animal. He climbs in, making a deep sigh of pleasure that flips your stomach right over, and wades over to the edge just opposite from where you set the music box. Evidently you're going to sit directly facing each other. That's fine, you guess. This is all fine.

Taako doesn't so much as look at you when you approach. In fact, he has his eyes closed, busy absorbing heat and sinking down to wet his shoulders. You're still a little reluctant to discard your towel. You almost say fuck it and just cannonball in there, but Taako would probably kill you to avenge his hair. In the end you just drop the towel and slide in as fast as possible, which seems to do the trick.

This completed, you turn back and fumble with the music box, which you can tell as soon as it gets going was a massive mistake. The music is so very candles and rose petals and slow, slow sex that you have trouble believing Johann wrote it. You might be interested in asking him about it if the most pressing issue on your to-do list hadn't immediately become throttling the life out of him.

You try to stop the music box, change the song, _anything_ , but you can't work it out--the damn thing must be enchanted because it didn't take much winding and now it just keeps going. For a moment you have the wild urge to just smash it and see if that works, but you don't because you're not a fucking animal. Instead you just take a deep breath and turn back from the edge toward Taako like a prisoner facing the gallows.

"Mmm. Perfect." Taako tips his head back so you can see the whole line of his throat. "Man, Johann sure outdid himself with this one, huh?" The lyrics start in a beautiful, smooth, honestly _sexy_ counterpoint to the music, and Taako sighs again in appreciation. Then, after a few moments of soaking in the water and music, he sits up with a start, ears twitching. He cranes to look around you at the music box as though seeing it would help him to hear. "Is that _Brad_?"

Well, you don't know what you expected--it's not as if there are a lot of bards at the Bureau, let alone oratory bards like Brad. And it'd have to be at the Bureau, the gods know Johann makes such a point of complaining that nobody else can ever retain his music. So it's definitely Brad singing, "I'm never gonna dance again; guilty feet have got no rhythm..."

"Huh," says Taako, sinking back down thoughtfully. "He's pretty good."

And the thing is, he _is_. He really is. As if this weren't fucking weird enough without fucking Brad Bradson from HR serenading you with deep, dulcet tones.

There's nothing you can do but laugh weakly at it all. You sink down into the water and decide to work through the discomfort by focusing on individual parts of your body and trying to get them to unclench, one by one. Anxiety itself is so out of your comfort zone you're not even really sure how relaxing your muscles is supposed to work.

A couple times as you soak, you catch Taako glancing at you, but he looks away as soon as you notice. You think he might be considering something, but his voice is light and easy when he speaks. "Think it would have killed the guys who made this thing to put some fuckin' jets in here? Taako is aaaall knots right now. You oughta give me a massage," he adds, kicking his foot your way even though it's about five feet between you. "We got a table or we could do it right here, either way, just get crackin'."

A massage? A _massage_. A couple gears of your brain come off track from each other and just start spinning. "Haha. Massage. Yeah..."

This time Taako does look at you, real close. Like, real close. He stands up and wades his way over with that hip-swingy gait of his, gazing directly at you in a way that makes your stomach twist. You want to look away from him, but you can't. He's so beautiful. How did you never notice Taako was this beautiful?

He comes to a stop right in front of you, waist deep in water, practically up against your knees. Your heart pounds so hard you think a constitution saving throw may be in your immediate future.

Taako plants his hands on bare hips. "You know, you've been smoldering pretty hard, there." 'Smoldering' is not how you would put it. 'Ready to jump out of your skin' feels more accurate. "Like, _looking_ , you feel?" he presses.

"Well, y-you look nice," you sputter. Shit. You're going to fucking slap yourself. That's what you say when someone shows up in a flattering outfit, not when they're gods-damn naked.

"Aha." Taako raises perfect eyebrows. "So, just so I'm not misinterpreting or anything--you're saying you like what you see."

You don't know what to say. Your mouth tries to speak without any plan from your brain, so you just stutter a couple random syllables and stop.

Taako breaks into a conspiratorial grin and leans in just a touch. Your brain has sounded the alarm and every part of you prickles on high alert. "For real? Oh, _Magnus_. Why didn't you say so?"

"I didn't--I didn't want to--"

Taako walks his fingers up your chest and slides his hand over your shoulder. "Didn't want to what?" he says, tilting his head and fixing you with these _eyes_ that melt you like a popsicle. "Did you think I'd be upset?"

The idea sounds silly the way he puts it, but how could you have known he wouldn't be? "It's not just that," you say with what little wind you can gather from your body. "It's just--I--"

Taako slides his knee up by your thigh where you sit to lean even closer, practically in your lap. You wish you had that haunted doll for this death roll you're about to make. "I'm listeniiiing," he singsongs, tilting his head back in the other direction. He looks amused, which is really not what you need right now.

"Taako," you say, attempting to meet his gaze and be firm even though you feel mostly gooey. "I don't--it's not that I don't _want_ \--" You take a deep breath. "This might not be such a good idea."

"Oh." Taako blinks, a little surprised perhaps--but then he takes his hands back and steps clean away. "Okay. Look. Listen. If you're not cool, I'm fine. You're not feeling good about this, that's chill." He pats your knee. "I can respect if you gotta put up boundaries or what have you. No means no and shit."

You desperately want to explain that it's not him, that it's just--you can't--"I'm just not ready," you admit.

Taako looks at you some more and then nods. "Sure, my dude. No prob." He reaches out and ruffles your hair. "Taako's good out here." He gives you a lopsided smile, which sets off butterflies in your stomach despite it all.

The music changes to something thankfully instrumental that is much more Johann-style gloomily beautiful, but you can't help your heart feeling lighter. Taako doesn't set off toward the other side of the spring again, but drops down with a splash beside you and sprawls out like nothing ever happened. He asks about training with Carey, which quickly has the two of you gleefully gossiping about her and Killian. You even badger him into admitting he spent the day with Angus, which makes you so proud of how far he's come, even though when you tell him so he rejects the idea of growth entirely. You feel like maybe things are going to be normal again, and if not, then it might not be the end of the world.

Eventually Taako complains he's in danger of overheating his tender elf body, so you gather up Steven and get out of the spring, even giving Taako a hand up to climb out. The two of you towel off and pull on your fresh pajamas with minimal ogling, deciding against trying any of the other spa features tonight, and when Taako goes to braid his hair, you speak up. "Can I do it?"

He lets go of his handfuls of hair and looks curiously at you. "You can braid?"

You used to braid for Julia all the time. "Of course I can braid. Ropework and shit."

Taako accepts the offer, sitting on the bench with his outfit from the day plus Steven in his lap as you work. For himself he usually does a more intricate braid that's a bit beyond your skill level, but this one is just to go to bed; at any rate he doesn't complain once, which you know means he appreciates it more than he would ever say.

When you get back to your quarters at the Bureau, it's late enough to be still and quiet in the late-night hush sort of way, so it's good that you had set up shop in the middle of your living room where you wouldn't disturb anyone on your way out. You yawn and stretch to crack your back as Taako folds up the entrance to the spa and tucks it in his nightgown pocket.

The two of you walk in your bare feet to your door in the hall, marked by the wooden placard hand-carved with your name. Taako's room is a bit farther along, which he's always happy to complain makes it farther from the kitchen. You pause, ready for a goodnight, but something is hovering between the two of you, and Taako doesn't just pat you on the back and whisk off to bed like usual. He's been quiet, actually, ever since you left the spa.

"Hey, Magnus?" he asks finally.

"Yeah?" you reply, heart in your throat, waiting for something but not sure what it will be.

"You love me for more than just my incredible sexiness, right?"

Whatever you were expecting, it wasn't that. You think it was meant to be a breezy joke, but on delivery it comes out troubled and serious. You decide to pick up the joke slack. "Are you asking if I'll still love you when you're no longer young and beautiful?" you croon. Taako snorts and elbows you, and then you gather him into a rough one-armed hug. "Of course I will, Taako."

"There will be no point when _Taako_ is not beautiful," he says with dignity, "and you won't be seeing me when I'm no longer young, you human fuck." Still, he returns the gesture with a light, awkward, not particularly hug-like pat.

"Gods willing," you joke, and Taako rolls his eyes and squirms out of your grasp. "I'll love you no matter what, Taako."

You pause, then lean down to look him in the eyes. He doesn't seem to appreciate it very much, but you make sure he stops squirming enough to meet your gaze before you speak. "And I'm never going to let anyone or anything ever hurt you. I promise."

Taako blinks like he's caught off guard. It's just long enough to tell that he really didn't expect that sincerity, and is actually having some sort of real emotion about it. And then he recovers. "Yeah, okay, right, you'll take care of me, I got it. Let me go to bed before you start taking on dragons for me, dog." He waves a lazy hand and turns to go.

You take his hand before he can slip away from you. "Taako."

"Yes?" He brushes hair out of his face with his free hand, a nervous tic that betrays his carefully casual demeanor.

You rub your thumb over the engraving of his bracer in consideration and then let him go. _You're going to make some lucky guy really happy one day._ "It's nothing."

You think you've said enough for one night. There's always going to be time.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my TAZ blog [link: [here](https://the-thb-tbh.tumblr.com/)]!


End file.
